In a significant judgment settling the law regarding the termination of arbitral proceedings and the remedies available against such orders, the Supreme Court has held that an order terminating proceedings for non-payment of fees under Section 38 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act, 1996”) is essentially an order under Section 32(2)(c). A Bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan ruled that the appropriate remedy for a party aggrieved by such termination is to first file an application for recall before the Arbitral Tribunal, and if rejected, to approach the Court under Section 14(2) of the Act. The Bench explicitly barred the filing of fresh applications under Section 11 to initiate a second round of arbitration.

Background of the Case

The appeal

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